If any other team in the NBA was 16-5, which stands as the best record in the league's most hotly contested conference, they would be certain to an early NBA title contender. But, no team has the history and paranoia of the the New York Knicks.There is constant seconding guessing by Knicks' fans about the decisions made by the team's brass at Madison Square Garden. But, can you really blame them? James Dolan may be one of the most hated owners in the game of basketball (the LA Clippers Donald Sterling may be his rival, however) and the Knicks' executives over the last decade have not exactly been the standard bearers of exemplar team management. However, the New York Knicks look different this year, The transformation did not occur overnight, instead brash moves by Dolan, the team's General Manager Glen Grunwald and the team's brass over the past 2 years have given the MSG faithful a new lease on their basketball lives.
Stars in the Big Apple
The team's fortunes did not change overnight, but started in 2010 when they picked up Amar'e Stoudemire. While Stoudemire's ridiculous 5 year deal worth $99.7 million has been a complete bust for the Knicks, it did provide one positive outcome: it made the Knicks a premiere destination for stars in their prime (Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis do not count!). The following season the Knicks made their biggest move in decades by
picking up a legitimate franchise player in Carmelo Anthony in a trade with the
Denver Nuggets. After a slow start at the beginning of his Knicks' career,
Melo has steadily improved and is now pushing himself into NBA MVP
discussions this season, by averaging 27.7 points per game and 6.6
rebounds per game. Aside from leading the team in statistical categories, Melo has established himself as the team's undisputed
leader.
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| Amar'e Stoudemire: Luring other stars to the Knicks may be his biggest contribution |
The third important move that the Knicks made was bringing in Tyson Chandler through free agency in the summer of 2011. Chandler, who has been one of the league's top defensive big men in recent years, had just come off of winning the NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks. The 7 foot California native brought instant championship experience, leadership and defensive prowess (which saw him win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award last year) to a team that required all 3 of these improvements.
Coaching Carousel
Even with their own version of the big three in Stoudemire, Anthony and Chandler, the Knicks struggled under the leadership of run and gun coach Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni, who is going through a similar problem with the Los Angeles Lakers right now, could not institute a system that catered to his fast paced offensive style, and the attributes of Carmelo Anthony, who is more of a half-court, isolation/jump shot specialist. Coupled with this tension was the fact that like all other D'Antoni coached teams, the team's defense was horrible or non-existent on some nights. After a 18-24 start in the 2011-2012 season, D'Antoni resigned as the Knicks head coach after 3+ seasons. In that time span, the Knicks only made the NBA's post-season once, to be swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round in 2010-11.
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| D'Antoni's failure led to Mike Woodson's opportunity to lead the Knicks |
After D'Antoni's resignation, the Knicks installed one of his assistants, Mike Woodson, as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2011-12 season. The well-travelled coach was known for his solid approach to defense after winning a NBA title with the Detroit Pistons in 2003-04 as an assistant and, his 6 years as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, in which he led the team to two NBA Eastern Conference Finals appearances. While D'Antoni's installation as coach was a dismal failure for the Knicks executive team, the promotion and continued support of Woodson has been pure genius. Under Woodson, the Knicks have gone 34-11 since the coaching change. This move was particularly brash because it ignored the deafening calls for the hiring of former Knicks player, and zen master extraordinaire, Phil Jackson as the team's head coach. Even after injuries to Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and last year's global sensation Jeremy Lin, Woodson guided the team into the playoffs, and has led the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference after 21 games this year.
The Linsanity Dilemma
The final personnel moves that the Knicks made prior to the beginning of this season have already started paying dividends, and have saved the team from having yet another large, unwanted contract on the books. Grunwald and the Knicks made a shrewd and, at the time, a very unpopular decision, by not matching the Houston Rockets 3 year, $25 million contract offer for Jeremy Lin. Lin, who had provided the majority of the Knicks' highlights in the 2011-12 campaign, joined Kevin McHale and the free-spending Houston Rockets (who also traded for James Harden soon after) after the Knicks declined to match their substantial offer for the crafty point guard.
With a void at the point guard position, there was plenty of backlash and discontent from the Knicks faithful and sports media, who thought losing Lin hurt the team on the court and financially, as the point guard's global marketing appeal was arguably more important than his play on the court. This feeling was soon compounded as the Knicks signed free agent Raymond Felton to replace Lin. Felton had played for the Knicks in 2011, but was dealt to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade. The stocky point guard from South Carolina had enjoyed success in his first stint with the Knicks, but was returning to the team in less than ideal physical shape and after two unimpressive stops in Denver and Portland. To add some depth to the back court, the Knicks also signed aging 10-time All-Star Jason Kidd. Knicks fans were not amused, particularly as the two signings signaled the end of their pursuit of 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
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| Felton's second stint in NYC proving to be a success |
While these 2 signings didn't seem too exciting in the summer, it provided the Knicks with a solid back court pairing, which has proven to be one of the main contributors to the Knicks success so far this season. Felton is averaging just under 16 points and 7 assists a game and Kidd completely changing his game by becoming more of a shooting guard, he is chipping in with 9 points a game and shooting over 50% from behind the arc, by far the best in his career. The Knicks have become a very difficult team to defend because of the versatile talent on the floor at all times. The decision not to match Houston's offer for Lin has also allowed New York financial flexibility going forward, as Kidd is on a short-term contract.
The key to any championship team is having the right formula. Last year the Miami Heat's big 3 took them to the promised land despite having little depth in the rest of their line-up. Yet, very few teams have that sort of star power, and the Knicks may be onto something here with their own unique formula. By stockpiling saavy veterans like Kidd, the geriatric, but extremely sturdy Kurt Thomas, and the grumpy, yet extremely versatile Rasheed Wallace, the Knicks have added depth and experience to a line up that was already very talented with the likes of Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler and J.R Smith.
Are they ready to win a title? That may be a stretch looking at contenders like Miami, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, but one thing seems to have changed: the Knicks management has turned a new leaf. Long gone are the days of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis pulling up for jumpers, and Tim Thomas and Antonio McDyess hacking it up at MSG.
